Sitcoms

[Kiddington]

Speaking of Wilson, they were in Bridesmaids together.

I refuse to watch that movie by the way.

[Avaitor]

That was actually good. The only time I liked McCarthy, in fact.

[Avaitor]

Not enough finales for sitcoms have a mother smother her baby to death to keep it from crying.

[Foggle]

That sounds scary.

[Avaitor]

Yeah, I think M*A*S*H is the only one that can get away with that.

But damn, that was a dark turn.

[Avaitor]

Really though, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" is a great finale. One of M*A*S*H's main problems in its later years is that the further the show moves away from traditional sitcom territory, it attempted to be more like a conventional drama and give most if not all of the cast something to do in each episode, but everything ends up feeling incredibly rushed as they only have a half hour to tell a story.

With 5 times the amount of time, everyone gets the chance to have their own well-plotted, developed goodbye arc. And while some of it doesn't work, the last few minutes were near perfection. Still, the show peaked pretty early in its run, I'd say during seasons 3 to 5, with the 4th as its best. This is when the show dropped its more hijinks-oriented gags and was able to tell straight jokes while keeping its serious edge. The next couple of years are fine, but I feel like they were starting to repeat themselves pretty early on The 8th was the last year I especially enjoyed.

[Avaitor]

In other news, I think this upcoming season of Two and a Half Men will really be its last.

It could survive losing Charlie Sheen. It could even survive losing the half of the show. But now it's being moved an hour after its current timeslot, which means it'll air an hour and a half after Big Bang Theory. Since the majority of people who still watch it at this point mainly stick around since it airs after that, there goes what was left of the show's future.

Edit: In terms of good sitcoms though, if there is one thing I like about season 2 of Party Down, it's Megan Mullally as Jane Lynch's replacement. Now, I liked Lynch too, but I like how Mullally plays the polar opposite of her character, and thus has a great reaction among most of the cast. She's definitely better than the woman who replaced Jane Lynch in the last 2 episodes of season 1.

[gunswordfist]

I think people are afraid to not like her, otherwise it seems like they hate fat women, even if they're just rude and unfunny.

I'm chuckling over how it sounds like you're saying all fat women are rude and unfunny  (I know that's not what you meant)

Anyway, I just can't get into new sitcoms. Even if I get recommended some good ones, I feel like a sheep for trying to get into them.

[Avaitor]

Something tells me that you'd like Better Off Ted and Party Down if you gave them a chance. They're only 2 seasons each, and neither have more than 26 episodes, so it wouldn't take too much of your time if you tried to invest in them.

[gunswordfist]

I might give them a try. Thanks.

[Avaitor]

So now I'm watching The Larry Sanders Show.

How did Rip Torn only win the Emmy once?

[Avaitor]

Watching some of Rhoda again, I think that one of the reasons that the show just isn't as good as Mary, besides the various bits of sabotage the creators went through with it (this article is great, BTW) is that the audience is obnoxious as hell. At least in some of the episodes I've been watching, they've been treating only decent gags like they're the funniest things on earth. It's like Big Bang Theory level irritating.

But there is some strong writing and the cast is great. I just don't think I can get into it on the level of MTM.

Also, I can't hear Brenda talk without imagining she's trying a new voice for Marge. I'm never going to take her for any other role.

[Eddy]

I started watching That 70s Show on Netflix again. Damn, this show still manages to crack me up. It really is great.

Shame about the last couple seasons. So many shark jumping moments... Donna going blonde, Hyde being half black for no reason, Kelso becoming a dad, Jackie and Fez hooking up...

Randy...

But there's no denying that those first five seasons are excellent.

[Nel_Annette]

In my head canon, Donna never went blonde. The second that moment occurs, the series goes straight to shit, and everything after that is just awful.

But yes, I love That 70s Show's first few seasons.

[Avaitor]

To be fair, Laura Prepon is pretty hot as a blonde.

And with black hair. Seriously, Orange needs more love on here.